The ads were without question attention grabbers. I don't know if that appealed to the target audience, women, but I’m sure men of all ages reacted the same, thinking "Wow! Willya look at that on TV!" The ads were different, particularly those in magazines, showing a woman in her bra at some place or a scene that could only happen in a dream, nowhere in real life, such as in the desert or on an island in the Pacific. As I recall, bra ads were regularly placed in the Spokesman Review, but only as the model would look no different than a mannequin.
The theme of the Maidenform ads was the "I dreamed..." message. Makes sense. Aren't erotic dreams those that are most likely memorable when one awakens later? To be dreaming to be exposed in some place unusual in a (face it), item of erotic underwear would be an attention-grabber.
Sex has always been used, at least since the Roaring 20s, to sell products. Notice how many automobile commercials have always used highly attractive female models to sell the cars? Doesn't that appeal to men, who dream of having a fancy car that will attract chicks? Remember Perry Como's theme song--"Dream along with me, I'm on my way to the stars"? Perry was big at that time. Maybe thoughts went through women's heads, thinking they'd be sexier in a Maidenform in some slightly daring locale--"Dream along with me, I'm in my Maidenform Bra."